The primary time Trevor Ariza seen his son was totally different was in a fourth-grade basketball recreation. After breaking down a poor 8-year-old with a single transfer, Tajh Ariza drove into the paint and kicked the rock out to an open shooter with a seamless behind-the-back cross. “The timing was excellent. It was in stride. It was only a excellent cross,” Trevor says.
It’s a typical sunny day on the west aspect of L.A. and Trevor, Tajh and Tristan Ariza try to see who can hit a half-court shot first. It’s been two years because the NBA champion and L.A. native retired, and in the present day, he’s again on the campus the place his basketball dominance started. Besides Trevor’s not the one in his outdated white, crimson and black threads. His oldest son, Tajh, is.
Tajh is at the moment one of many prime 16-year-olds within the nation, and are available subsequent fall, he’ll be operating the gambit on the identical courtroom his dad did. After ending the basketball season at St. Bernard HS, Tajh quickly after transferred to Westchester this spring.
Inside the varsity’s gymnasium, Tajh stands at halfcourt surrounded by a sea of crimson, black and white, from the “Comets” branded bleachers and partitions to the shades of his dad’s authentic No. 4 dwelling jersey that he’s sporting. The light banners showcasing Trevor’s two state titles with the Comets hold proudly as father and son pose for flicks. Even on this second, Trevor’s affect is ever-present. It’s surrounded Tajh since he was a child, dribbling round with Kobe and Derek Fisher. Sure, he’s the son of an NBA participant. However Tajh Ariza’s recreation is totally his personal.
“I gotta maintain placing in work on daily basis,” Tajh says. “You realize, my dad [had a] nice profession, however I need to have my very own identify and present folks like, Oh, I need to be like him, you understand? So I simply gotta maintain working so I can get there.”
The 6-8 rising junior exploded on the recruiting circuit and is now thought of top-10 within the class of 2026. After his freshman 12 months, he held simply three main DI presents. Within the span of 5 months final 12 months, he racked up 5 extra. This previous spring he acquired an invitation to USA Junior Nationwide Minicamps, and over the summer time he was taking part in up with Workforce Why Not 17U on the EYBL circuit. Issues are simply clickin’.
However the path wasn’t so simply laid out. Trevor let Tajh discover his personal love for the sport. He didn’t push, he didn’t nudge; he sat again and watched his son uncover their now shared ardour.
“My concept for him was at all times proper earlier than he bought to highschool, if he was severe about it, I’d give him all of the instruments that I take advantage of or the issues that I discovered to assist him. So I’d say when he bought severe—about desirous to get higher or really work at basketball—was going into the ninth grade,” Trevor says.
Tajh agrees. He beloved the sport, however there’s an enormous distinction between loving to play and loving one thing sufficient to commit your self to five a.m. exercises, two-a-days and a grueling 82-game season.
“I needed to change my habits. Earlier than possibly center faculty, I didn’t actually take it as significantly. It was simply enjoyable for me I assume. In fact, it’s nonetheless enjoyable,” Tajh says, “however now I see that I’ve an actual probability at what I need to do and be nice. And I simply saved going. I simply took it.
Proper earlier than Tajh entered his freshman 12 months, Trevor laid out what it might seem like for his son to achieve his highest potential. It ended with a tender but refined reminder: It’s time to kick it into the following gear. “I sat down with him and instructed him that it’s not gonna be enjoyable. A number of the time, it’s not gonna be simple. It’s gonna take a number of sacrifice. And most youngsters, after they hear sacrifice or take away enjoyable or free time, they type of draw back from issues. Fortunate for me, he wished to do it. So it was simple,” Trevor says.
Within the 12 months since, Tajh and Trevor have constructed out a devoted plan. At the very least 3 times per week earlier than faculty, they both carry or grind by way of sand drills with Trevor’s outdated Hoop Masters teammate. Working within the tender sand of L.A.’s seashores is taxing, exhausting, unnerving—all of the above. However his explosiveness has taken off. “I began dunking on folks, in order that’s once I seen that it began serving to,” Tajh says. Off the courtroom, he’s learning the methods bigger guards like Paul George and Brandon Miller create area off the bounce.
After a bathe, breakfast and college, Tajh will hit whichever program they didn’t do within the morning earlier than heading to the courtroom for myriad of taking pictures and ballhandling drills. From the gymnasium to the sand dunes, Trevor is true there along with his son.
Tajh’s dedication is persistent, a mixture of witnessing the skilled traits of his dad’s profession and the need to carve out his personal legacy. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. to run in continually shifting sand is as a lot of a psychological exercise as it’s a bodily one. Whereas Tajh embraces the outcomes of his work, Trevor views it as a mile marker for a way far his son has come since their freshman 12 months dialog.
“It’s simple, for him particularly being so younger, to get the eye that he’s getting and type of, like, be complacent and caught in that. And my message to him is at all times simply put your head down and give attention to the work that you just put in,” Trevor says. “Concentrate on the hours that you just’re placing in, within the gymnasium, within the sand, watching the sport, studying the sport, simply give attention to that. Every little thing else will deal with itself.”
When he moved from North Carolina to L.A. to attend Saint Bernard HS as a sophomore, Tajh says the speak round his recreation remained comparatively quiet except for the attract of his final identify. That was till the start of the season when he acquired his first two presents from the College of Washington and USC. He’s nonetheless bought the response video on his cellphone. “I used to be so excited. I used to be leaping up and down, yelling. It felt good to lastly get, you understand, what I felt like I deserved. But it surely additionally simply motivated me to maintain going. [To] simply carry on stacking on that,” Tajh says.
Witnessing that pleasure in his personal kin is a pleasure solely a dad or mum can expertise. On the similar time, Trevor has come to curtail his recommendation even after an 18-year profession within the L that featured a 2009 championship with the Lakers and stops with 10 totally different organizations. The steering he offers his sons is usually rooted within the steps that he took in his journey to the NBA. And identical to their video games are totally different, so are the choices and choices accessible to them.
As Tajh prepares to enter his junior season and his youthful brother, Tristan, will get set to start out faculty, too, Trevor is aware of he can’t assume the roles of coach, dad and trainer abruptly. He needs to be selective and aware of the hats he wears, and when he wears them.
“If there’s per week the place I’m heavy on, like, Clear up your room or Take the trash out. What number of instances I gotta inform you to take the trash out? I gotta ease up on what’s occurring on the courtroom, as a result of I’m arduous on them at dwelling,” Trevor says.
If Tajh is taking good care of enterprise at dwelling, Trevor will drop some extra information. “However once more, it’s his canvas. So he has to color it the way in which he sees it. I can solely tweak little issues or give him little nuggets till he involves me for giant issues.”
Massive issues like transferring to your dad’s alma mater.
As he appears to be like up on the banners positioned by his dad a long time in the past, Tajh can really feel the goal on his again increasing. Academics are already flooding him with reminiscences of the varsity’s previous legendary battles with crosstown rival Fairfax. However the noise is simply that: noise. And as his dad walks down the halls that he as soon as occupied, he is aware of Tajh is able to absolutely stroll into his personal.
“I believe for Tajh, he’s at all times been round it. So, it’s nearly like second nature,” Trevor says. “He’s been across the setting since he might stroll, since he might speak. It’s tailor-made for him. Some children are born to do sure issues. And to me, in my eyes, I really feel like he’s a type of children that was simply born to be on this area.”
Portraits by Sam Muller.
